Elastic garment and method of producing same



H. KNOHL Nov. 16, 1943.

ELASTIC GARMENT AND METHOD OF PRODUCING SAME Filed Feb. 23, 1942 Patented Nov. 16, 1943 ELASTIC GARMENT AND IVIE'IHOD OF PRODUCING SAIHE Herbert Knohl, South Bend, Ind., assignor to The Kendall Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 23, 1942, Serial No. 431,945

Claims.

This invention relates to elastic garments and the method of producing the same, having particular reference to surgical stockings although not necessarily limited to this specific product.

Surgical stockings ordinarily are made with an Open heel and toe and are used by persons suffering from varicose veins or other disorders, often being worn under ordinary stockings or hose. The open heel construction has resulted from certain manufacturing considerations and from considerations of comfort and proper fitting. Several types of such construction have been employed in the past but none has been entirely satisfactory, and it is the general object of this invention to overcome the defects of prior constructions.

In order to understand the problems involved, brief reference will be made to some of the prior types of stocking and manufacturing practices.

One of the earliest types of elastic stocking was a one-way stretch type produced on a circular rib knitting machine with laid-in rubber threads in the knitted fabric. The machine was not adapted for knitting in a heel and it became the practice to slit the tubular stocking in the heel area and to sew up the edges of the opening so produced. The opening thus provided is V-shaped and, while this construction is satisfactory from the standpoint of the form of the stocking, it involves a serious weakness in that the fabric at the point of the V, where greatest stress occurs in the wearing of the stocking, is of single thickness and is not strong, enough to prevent breaking and tearing after relatively short wear, unless special precautions are taken.

Another and more modern form of construction which has been used is one which provides a U- shaped opening instead of the V-shaped one above mentioned. This construction has certain advantages, but even though, in effect, the point of the V is elongated into a line (the bottom of the U), and in practice the material along this construction, however, is complicated and the cost of producing it is unduly high.

line has been reinforced by looping the same with A more specific object of the invention is to provide an open heel construction of the V-type in which sufficient extra material has been knitted integrally into the heel area of the stocking 1n the form of gores to provide the desired double thickness adjacent the point of the V on each side of the heel.

The method whereby this new and superior construction is produced is also a part of the present invention.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, and from the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a completed surgical stocking as the same appears on the foot and leg of a wearer;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the foot section of such a stocking on a larger scale, with the marginal material about the heel opening folded under to form a double thickness, but without having the adjacent folded ends of such material secured together by stitching as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an exaggerated and somewhat diagrammatic view of the heel portion of the stocking as it appears at the completion of the knitting but prior to the cutting away of the ravelling material which is knitted in to form a false heel, and prior to the final folding of the marginal material;

Fig. 4 is a side view of a portion of the heel construction as shown in Fig. 3, this view being on a, still larger scale and illustrating particularly the construction at the point of the V at the time the knitting is completed;

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of a portion of the heel section, not as it actually appears in the stocking, but with the fabric cut across the instep to the point of the V, the diagonal lines of fold of the marginal material being slitted and the heel section stretched, this view being for the purpose of clarifying the construction and the method employed in producing it;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6 in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 1-1 in Fig. 2.

As thus illustrated the stocking comprises a leg portion II and a foot portion I2 made of any suitable elastic fabric, either of the oneway or two-way stretch type. A plain knit using elastic thread is preferred. A hem I3 is provided at the top of the stocking and a hem I4 at the forward end of the foot portion, the toe and heel areas being open as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the heel opening being generally lime-shaped. The knitting of the leg and foot portions II and I2 may be done either on a flat-bed or circular knitting machine, a circular machine, such as is used for fashioning seamless hosiery, being preferred.

The knitting may be started at either end of the stocking but will be described as beginning at the top. It proceeds in normal fashion to the P int I5, where a special reinforcement yarn is added to provide a reinforced area I6, the outer edge of which is indicated by an irregular line I1. The reinforcement may be inserted by known knitting processes and the knitting proceeds to the point I8, where the upper margin I9 of the heel opening begins. The material of this part of the fabric may be the same as in the adjacent areas of the stocking or may be made of finer or coarser threads as desired. The margin I9 and the lower margin 2| on the other side of the opening are of double thickness of elastic fabric and are formed in novel manner which will now be described, reference being made in this connection particularly to Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

Beginning at the point I8, the knitting machine is operated with a reciprocatory motion of the cylinder instead of with a rotary motion which is used in forming the leg portion, and the margin I9 is formed in this manner, one needle at a time being taken out of operation at the end of each course on each side of the heel until a central point, indicated in Fig. 5 by the dot-and-dash lin 22 i reached, after which one needle at a time is put back into operation at the end of each course ,on each side of the heel, the corresponding course ends on each side of the line 22 being knitted together until the point 25 and edge 23 are reached.

This results in a diagonal line 24 from the point 25 of the V to the center line 22. As knitted, the material is in reality folded along this line but in Fig. 5 it is shown, for'the sake of clarity in illustration, as slitted and forming two slopes, one extending rearwardly and downwardly from the point 25 to the line 22 and the other forwardly and downwardly from the latter line to said point 25. In this manner a gore is formed from the point 25 to the center line 22, causing the material to fold naturally along the line 24 and said line 22, it being shown as folded up on the inside of the stocking. At the rear of, the heel, as shown in Fig. 3, the margin material of the upper margin I9 between the lines 22 and 23 is not yet folded up to final position, but in Figs. 1, 2, 6 and '7 it is shown as folded all the way around along the line 22. The material in the vicinity of the point of the V on each side of the heel is folded along the diagonal line 24, as above mentioned.

From the bottom edge 23 of the upper margin I9, ravelling 26 is knitted in (by any approved method) to maintain the continuity, and continues to a line indicated at 21 in Fig. 5. Here the knitting of the lower margin begins and continues in the sam manner as above described in respect to the upper margin until the lower limit 28 of said lower margin is reached. The center line of the lower margin is indicated by the numeral 29, and it will be noted that the diagonal line, which is marked 3|, of said lower margin also comes to th point of the V, so that the two points 25 on the lower margin and the two points marked with the same numeral on the upper margin on the same side of the heel are actually only one point, as indicated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive.

The ravelling material 26, which forms a false heel, is knitted to both the upper margin I9 and the lower margin 2| of the heel opening but is not knitted to the instep portion of the stocking. Therefore, a small hole 32 is left in said ravelling on each side of the heel, the margin of this hole being the line 33 as shown in Fig. 5.

It will be understood that during the knitting of the upper margin I9, the ravelling 26 and the lower margin 2|, the instep needles are out of operation but when the knittin has proceeded to the line 28, as shown in Fig. 5, all ofthe heel needles will have been put back in action and the instep needles will also start operating. The heel yarns at this point ar replaced by the yarns used in the leg portion of the stocking. including the reinforcement yarn, and the knitting of the foot portion, by rotary motion of the cylinder of the-knitting machine, proceeds in regular fashion to the end of the garment.

After the knitting is completed the ravelling material may be slitted from the base of the false heel to the hole 32 at the point of the V on each side, and the margin material is then folded on the center lines 22 and 29 all the way around the heel opening. Having already been folded on the lines 24 and 3|, which are the center lines of the two gores above mentioned, it will tend to fold naturally along said lines 22 and 29.

Along the lines I8 and 28 the margin material is looped or sewed as indicated at 34, and the ravelling material is cut away on these lines. It will now be evident that the margin material is of double thickness all the way around the heel opening and the only remaining operation is to secure the instep portions of the material of the upper and lower margins together along the folded lines 24 and 3|. This may be done by sewing or looping, although a zigzag stitch is preferred, since a very secure joint between these .two 'edges may be formed thereby. Such stitching is indicated in Fig. 1 by the numeral 35 and preferably consists of non-elastic threads to limit .the stretching of fabric in that region. Since the stitching penetrates the folded fabric, the joint is of course much trated only a single thickness.

It is particularly to be observed that if the conventional type of knitted heel were cut and folded back as is done in the present construction, there would be an area in th immediate vicinity of the point of the V where there would be only one thickness of fabric, due to the fact that the general shape of the heel is triangular. As a result prior constructions employing a -V- type opening have been too weak at this point, as hereinabove pointed out. By providing sufficient extra material in the heel area by the use of gores, as has been described, it is possible to stronger than if it peneovercome this weakness by forming a margin of double thickness of elastic fabric all the wa around the opening, including the area in the immediate vicinity of the point of the V on each side of the heel, and when the double material is secured together along the diagonal lines of the gores by a strong stitching or in other suitable manner, an exceedingly strong and durable construction is provided. The margins of the opening are completely elastic and will have two-way stretch if the rest of the garment is so constructed.

While an elastic stocking has been illustrated and described as the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is contemplated, as above mentioned, that the construction provided by the invention might also be used in other garments in which a reinforced opening is desired, such, for example, as an anklet or a sleeve having an elbow opening.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible in view of the prior art.

I claim:

1. In an elastic garment, a tubular knitted member having an opening with V-shaped ends, and means for reinforcing the margin of said opening comprising a fabric section folded at said margin to provide a double thickness composed of a plurality of layers of the fabric extending entirely around the opening, including the portions thereof immediately adjacent the points of the Vs.

2. In an elastic garment, a tubular knitted member having an opening with V-shaped ends, and means for reinforcing the margin of said opening comprising an elastic fabric section folded at said margin to provide a double thickness composed of a plurality of layers of the fabric extending entirely around the opening, including the portions thereof immediately adjacent the points of the Vs.

3. In an elastic garment, a tubular knitted member having an opening with Vshaped ends, and means for reinforcing the margin of said opening comprising an elastic fabric section folded at said margin to provide a double thickness extending entirely around the opening, including the portions thereof immediately adjacent the points of the Vs, the folded fabric section being in two parts terminating adjacent the points of the Vs, and means for firmly joining said parts together and for providing further reinforcement at these points.

4. In an elastic garment, a tubular knitted member having an opening with V-shaped ends, and means for reinforcing the margin of said opening comprising an elastic fabric section folded at said margin to provide a double thickness extending entirely around the opening, including the portions thereof immediately adjacent the points of the Vs, the folded fabric section being in two parts terminating adjacent the points of the Vs, and means for firmly joining said parts together and for providing further reinforcement at these points, the latter means comprising stitching formed with non-elastic thread.

5. In an elastic garment, a tubular knitted member formed with an opening having a V- shaped portion, and means for reinforcing the margin of said opening comprising a ection of fabric folded at said margin to provide a double thickness composed of a plurality of layers of the fabric extending entirely around the opening, including the part thereof immediately adjacent the point of the V.

6. In an elastic garment, a tubular knitted member having an opening with V-shaped ends, and means for reinforcing the margin of said opening comprising an elastic fabric section folded at said margin to provide a double thickness extending entirely around the opening, including the portions thereof immediately adjacent the points of the Vs, the margin section in the latter areas comprising folding gores each coming to a point at the point of one of the Vs, with adjacent gores firmly secured together across the base part of the V.

.7. An elastic surgical stocking having an open heel, and means for reinforcing the margin of the heel opening comprising a fabric section folded at said margin to provide a double thickness composed of a plurality of layers of the fabrics extending entirely around the opening.

8. An elastic surgical stocking having an open heel, and means for reinforcing the margin of the heel opening comprising a fabric section folded at said margin toprovide a double thick ness extending entirely around the opening, said margin section comprising upper and lower portions and instep portions, the latter being in the form of folding gores.

9. An elastic surgical stocking having an open heel, and means for reinforcing the margin of the heel opening comprising a fabric section folded at said margin to provide a double thickness extending entirely around the opening, said margin section comprising upper and lower portions and instep portions, the latter on each side of. the instep being in the form of adjacent folding gores firmly secured together.

10. An elastic surgical stocking having a V- shaped hee1 opening, and means for reinforcing the margin of said opening comprising a fabric section folded at said margin to provide a double thickness composed of a plurality of layers of the fabrics extending entirely around the opening, including the portions thereof immediately adjacent the points of the Vs.

11. A knitted elastic surgical stocking having a V-shaped heel opening, and means for reinforcing the margin of said opening comprising a fabric section knitted integrally with the rest of the stocking and folded at said margin to provide a double thickness composed of a plurality of layers of the fabrics extending entirely around the opening, including the portions thereof immediately adjacent the points of the Vs.

12. A knitted elastic surgical .stocking having a V-shaped heel opening, and means for reinforcing the margin of said opening comprising a fabric section knitted integrally with the rest of the stocking and folded at said margin to provide a double thickness extending entirely around the opening, including the portions thereof immediately adjacent the points of the Vs, the folded fabric section being in two parts terminating adjacent the points of the Vs, and means for firmly joining said parts together and for providing further reinforcement at these points.

13. An elastic surgical stocking having a V- shaped heel opening, and means for reinforcing the margin of said opening comprising a fabric section folded at said marign to provide a double thickness extending entirely around the opening, including the portions thereof immediately adjacent the points of the Vs, said margin section comprising upper and lower portions each including an instep portion, the latter portions, on each side of the instep, being in the form of folding gores coming to a point at the point of the V.

14. An elastic surgical stocking having a V- shaped heel opening, and means for reinforcing the margin of said opening comprising a fabric section folded at said margin to provide a double thickness extending entirely around the opening, including the portions thereof immediately adjacent the points of the Vs, said margin section comprising upper and lower portions each including an instep portion, the latter portions, on each side of the instep, being in the form of adjacent folding gores coming to a point at the point of the V, and means for firmly joining said adjacent gores together and for providing further reinforcement at these points.

15. In an elastic surgical stocking knitted with a V-shaped heel opening opposite the instep portion, means for reinforcing the margin of said heel opening comprising adjacent doubled per.- tions of marginal fabric on each side of the instep extending to the point of the V, and reinforcing stitching fastening said adjacent portions of such fabric together.

16. The method of producing an elastic surgi cal stocking with a V-shaped, reinforced heel opening, which comprises knitting into the heel area sufiicient extra material to provide for a double thickness thereof entirely around the heel opening, said extra material adjacent the points of the Vs being knitted in the form of upper and lower folding gores, folding said material to form said continuous double thickness at the margin of the opening, and attaching together said upper and lower folding gores on each side of the heel.

17. The method of producing an elastic surgiopening, which comprises knitting folding gores into the heel area adjacent the point of the V, on each side of the instep to provide double thickness of marginal material at these points, and fastening said gores together to reinforce the point of the V. i

18. The method of producing an elastic garment having a V-shaped opening therein, which comprises knitting the garment with folding gores adjacent the point of the V, one on each side thereof, and fastening said gores together, to relnforce the garment in region of the point of the V.

19. A knitted elastic surgical stocking having a heel opening divided into sections, said sections being separated by V-shaped notches, said heel opening, including the sides of the notches, being bounded by two thicknesses of fabric, the overlapping portions of which are knitted integrally with the rest of the stocking in a manner permitting folding along the contour of the opening without wrinkling or stretching thfabric, and means for securing the sides of the notches in closely adjacent abutting relationship.

20. A knitted elastic surgical stocking having'a lune-shaped heel opening with V-shaped notches atthe points of the lune, the sides of said notches being secured in closely adjacent abutting relationship, said heel opening, including the sides of the notches, being bounded by two thicknesses of fabric, the overlapping portions of which are knitted integrally with the rest of the stocking in a manner permitting folding along the con tour of the opening without wrinkling or stretching the fabric.

HERBERT KNOHL. 

